Frederiksbjerg School is the first new-built school located in the center of Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, in approximately 100 years.

The new school, which also houses a daycare facility and a youth club, is built on the site of former school, Sct. Annagades School. For decades Sct. Annagades School was a well-established gathering place for the local community. This lead to a vision of the new school building supporting the old memoir.

The school is dedicated to the youth and children of the local area. It aims to give children as well as adults an ideal environment for unfolding and learning. In the design of the building an architectural focus lies in numerous spatial qualities such as daylight and materials creating an environment which invites learning through movement and sense-perception.

The building follows Aarhus City Council’s program for new learning environments in schools and public institutions. The program focuses on a merge between the building’s organization and educational practice and purpose, which research proves has immense impact on children’s learning.

Frederiksberg School is organized around a center atrium where clusters of the building meet and join together. Shared practical rooms, laboratories and learning kitchens are located in connection with the atrium. When you move through the building from the main entrance, you start at the open center atrium through the smaller shared areas to the small class and group rooms in the clusters. This structure is repeated on all three floors.

The daycare, the youngest children and the administration are placed on the ground- and first floors, the middle grades students are on the second floor and the oldest students are on the third floor.

The students and the teachers meet in the atrium which is the vertical open connection between the floors. This targets the ambition to strengthen the visual and physical connection between students and teachers.

The clusters are built around a shared center-room encouraging various activities and study areas. The activity areas are used for that focus on learning through movement and play. These areas are specifically fitted to the different age groups and levels of understanding and motion. The study areas are built as small niches which create quiet rooms for individual study.

The classrooms are located in the clusters of the building and each classroom has its own group room, which can be accessed from both classrooms and from shared areas. The classrooms are arranged so they uphold different learning phases: A staircase utilized as benches, and a projector make up the area intended for presentations and introductions. The tables and chairs can be moved around, thus enabling the students to study in groups or separately. The window sills are made for quiet studies or breakout spaces from where the students can overlook the school’s terraces and the surrounding city.

Outside school hours, the classrooms, playing fields and sports halls are open to the public and the local sporting associations.

The school is placed in the Frederiksbjerg district in the southern part of the central Aarhus. The district is mostly characterized by 4-6 story building blocks in red bricks. In the area around the new school there are many public institutions and activities, e.g. a swimming stadium, a street marked and a large playground.

The main entrance is placed on the corner of two historic streets and an cantilever is built in double height with concrete pillars which match the pillars in the atrium. Built along the boulevard is a big, south-facing staircase, often used as benches, which merges the school with the surrounding context.

The school shares public playgrounds and outside areas with the surrounding houses and institutions. The area has an outdoor kitchen, tool sheds, rabbit hutches and a mini mooncar garage.

The outside areas are supplemented by big terraces on each floor which work as both learning and playing areas. On the rooftop you find playing fields and areas with furniture where you can sit, relax and enjoy the view. Some of the terraces can in addition be used as outside workshops for the classes. All the terraces are open for the public outside of school opening hours.

The facades are made from recycled bricks. In fact, 20 pct. of the cladding stem from the old Sct. Annagades School. The patinated bricks give the building a contextual relation to the historical surroundings. The brick also tells the stories of former buildings adding a strong identity to the new school. The tactile, red material adds a warm and welcoming expression to the building exterior, which furthermore appears with pillars of concrete, black and anthracite grey surfaces and colored coatings.
Inside the building the colors and materials support the orientation and logistics of the school. Two halls which almost float in the atrium are covered with red and orange acoustic tiles and three big wall paintings wrap themselves around the detached group rooms.

The building appears as a lively and dynamic school where children as well as adults can find identity in the design and in the school as a whole.

Daylight is one of the most important influencing factors in creating a beneficial indoor climate. Variety in light intensity, colors and movement are key to the spatial experience.

The design of Frederiksbjerg School focuses on daylight as an ever-changing light source. In the design of the building the sizes of the windows have been graded, being largest in the center of the façade, smaller in the top by the roof and smallest near the ground. The pattern of the window creates a natural diversity in the experience of the daylight in the new building. Similar facade concepts have successfully been used in other educational buildings designed by Henning Larsen Architects.

The large windows in the center of the façade create views to the open areas, the smaller windows at the top of the façade let the daylight shine far into the building and the lowest placed windows invite children to sit and read or play in the sills.

To prevent overheating and blinding there has been installed a discreet solar blinding on all the windows.

Starting in January, Frederiksbjerg School will function as a laboratory for studies in the correlation of daylight and artificial light and their significance in a new learning environment. This project is conducted by Henning Larsen Architect’s sustainability department working with the Technical University of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and the Danish Building Research Institute.

During the building of the new school, 17 works of art have been created. These art pieces involve sculptures, figurative pieces and arts of installation executed by two Danish artists.

In the entrance, the Danish artist Grethe Sørensen has created an installation of tilting concrete pillars integrated with LED lighting. For the café, Grethe has woven a giant goblin depicted from images from certain demonstrations in New York.

Another Danish artist, Rose Eken, has painted big wall paintings, which bend around group rooms in the atrium. Additionally, she has created five painted bronze figures, which resemble the school’s design. Rose Eken has also developed three small optical boxes and four showcases with miniature tableaus portraying a child birthday and the artist’s own atelier among others.

Graphic design, wayfinding and signage

The graphic design concept has been developed in line with the architectural intention. Graphic designers at Henning Larsen Architects have created the visual identity of the building with the keywords openness, kindness, motion, diversity, play, and learning as a common objective.

The typography, Deyinyl, is the initial key for the remaining parts of all graphics and signs, repeated both in- and outdoors.
The typeface exists in seven selections, with their own unique definition, creating a distinct and clear geometrical expression throughout the building.

By varying all seven typographic selections, the designers have created an expression which is both playful, dynamic and fluid. The colors correspond with the additional elements in the new building, where the color red acts as the primary color. The graphics also supports the main maps, maps of orientation, floorplans and glass markings, lockers and signs on meeting rooms and facades.

Quotes and inspirational words, adapted to the specific course and age level, are likewise implemented on classroom walls and glass. Here the graphics underline and clarify the spatial traits of the different rooms, while communicating academic useful information equal for students and teachers.

The final decision of building a new school in central Aarhus, was made by Aarhus City Council in march 2011.

Frederiksbjerg School houses approximately 900 students from former N.J Fjordsgade School, Frederiksbjerg Youth Club and Frederiksbjerg Day Care. The school and its surroundings are open to public year-round.

In January 2013, Henning Larsen Architects, in collaboration with the Aarhus based office, GPP Architects and contractor Hoffmann, won the proposal for Frederiksbjerg School. Additionally, four other joint ventures partook in the competition.

Henning Larsen Architects’ experience with school projects reaches back to when the office was first founded. In 1960, Henning Larsen won the proposal for the Klostermark School in Roskilde, becoming the first school in a series of school and educational proposals in the time to come.

To name a few, Henning Larsen Architects have completed designs of many other projects such as Roskilde University Center, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen IT University, University of Southern Denmark – Campus Kolding, City Campus Aalborg, and Frederiksberg High School.

In addition, Henning Larsen Architects has designed kindergartens and integrated daycare facilities in Valby and Holbæk in the Copenhagen area.

Internationally, the office has excelled in the sector of Education making designs for e.g. Jåttå Vocational School in Stavanger, Norway, Umeå School of Architecture, Sweden, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany, Queensland University of Technology in Australia, The French International School in Hong Kong and most recently the University of Cincinnati’s College of Business in USA.

The foundation stone was laid for the new headquarters of the vip.com online group in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. Stephan Schütz attended the ceremony as the partner representing gmp, von Gerkan, Marg und Partners Architects. At the beginning of the year, gmp won the international competition for the project and was subsequently commissioned to begin construction.

vip.com is one of China’s most successful E-commerce companies. This rapidly growing concern is establishing its new headquarters in Guangzhou’s “Internet Innovation Zone” in the Pazhou district, which is an island in the Pearl River southeast of the city center. This area, which includes the grounds for the Canton Fair, has been designated a new trade and service district dedicated to Internet companies with supplementary leisure facilities.

The corporate culture at vip.com is dynamic with flat hierarchies. Architecturally, this calls for large, flexible spaces that can be diversely populated and rapidly converted while permitting various organizational forms of office use. In terms of design, the building was developed as a horizontally layered office landscape that bridges the streets to connect all three building sites on the angular parcel. With this as the basis, the overall cubature and arrangement of the vertical access points were developed with a view to providing a maximum number of office spaces with attractive views of the river and city.

The building’s individual functional areas appear as stacked volumes offset by vertical apertures and by floors with special functions that take the form of “seams.” The first of these seams located on the fourth floor signals the interface between external and internal functions, serving as a meeting place for visitors and employees that includes a conference center, exhibition spaces, and catering facilities. This area is open to both the building interior and the platform projecting out toward the Pearl River. As a public space with a welcoming quality, it connects the building to the waterfront via broad flights of stairs and to a park in the east whose design is an integral part of the project.

Just above the “meeting zone” in the stacked block are the office zones for the company’s individual teams. Here, another special floor is dedicated to informal interactions, including recreational areas, a library, fitness areas, and planted outdoor terraces. The two slender 130 and 172 meter towers emerging from this base structure accommodate both a hotel for employees and guests and, in the case of the taller tower, rooms for administration and management.

The overall character of the architecture is determined by the façade, which is kept deliberately simple and is horizontally articulated with floor-to-ceiling windows. Casement windows that can be opened allow natural ventilation of all workstations. For the predominantly young and creative staff, the result is a variety of work environments that are both interconnected and connected to the outside. In terms of urban design, the building appears as a full-scale composition of individually discernable cubes whose special identity is established by the way it specifically addresses its users and location.

“Ario Choob” project, which is an office & show-room for presenting imported lumbering machines, is located in the industrial town of “Behsazi Sanaye Choob”. Constructions in this industrial town are usually built from prefabricated concrete panels and each block is divided into four parts, with the height of 12 meters. Unlike the common appearance of these industrial towns, this town looks like a garden and the street network is constructed carefully in order to save the trees from any damage.

The project was referred to us when it was under construction. The whole project had the same two-level type. As we discussed with the client, we detected requirements and priorities of the project and we decided to change the routine typology, which consequently changed the number of levels and the location of the administrational part.

The lumbering machines should be presented and observed from above height by costumers. Instead of defining extra mobile stairs as a typical method and solution in such showrooms, we transferred the whole project to a multi-story observation deck. Adding different bridges and stairs among defined floors and mezzanines of the project was mainly supported this idea. The negative spaces and voids enriches our concept more. Therefore we could present a constant tour for costumers among project levels.

The main circulation scenario starts from manager’s office on the administration’s 3rd floor to different parts of the project, takes place through bridges which make a three- dimensional full flow to different floors, and finally accesses the sales rooms on the ground floor.

One the other hand, we had a simple cube that we could experience the space in an unlike ordinary way by defining a circulation loop that emanates from the functional scenario which provides different eye-levels and presents various visual perspectives of the space for users. It will simultaneously fulfill the functional purpose of the exhibition and make the space active and memorable.

The Russas Advanced Campus of the Federal University of Ceará is part of a larger plan to take public University to the interior of Brazil, democratizing opportunities. The first stage consists of three structural units: the portico access, the connecting walkway and the administrative and teaching building. The design was thought to facilitate future expansions and design each unit according to their specific function, also seeking to give unity to the group, either through building elements and materials used, or through the appreciation of the free shaded areas without a defined use, also present throughout the buildings. The understanding that the exchange of knowledge occurs also in these meeting spaces has motivated the creation of it.

The portico defines the access, with spaces for services and reception. The walkway, a large span of twelve meters, serves as a great articulator of the campus, as a covered street that will connect all the blocks. From there you access the teaching block, a large volume with the presence of three internal courtyards, facilitating ventilation and lighting. This block houses the administration, coordination, teachers room, classrooms, the library, the auditorium and laboratories, as well as toilets and a cafeteria.

The use of modular structure and the concentration of wet and common areas allows flexibility of the internal spaces, enabling changes over time. All rooms are flanked by corridors, serving sometimes as circulation sometimes as technical areas, but also act as protection against direct sunlight, necessary strategy due to the climate of the place. In the external facades alternate “cobogós”, traditional elements of vernacular construction, with aluminum brises, creating a dynamic shell which allows ventilation and protects from direct insolation. Due to the diversity of shapes and dimensions of the blocks, we used simple finishes, with textures in white and gray colors and ceramic in the circulation areas, exploring the shadows and shapes.

]]>http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/2016/05/12/russas-advanced-campus-in-ceara-brasil-by-rede-arquitetos/feed/0Administrative building of the Federal University in Ceará, Brasil by Rede Arquitetoshttp://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/2016/05/11/administrative-building-of-the-federal-university-in-ceara-brasil-by-rede-arquitetos/
http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/2016/05/11/administrative-building-of-the-federal-university-in-ceara-brasil-by-rede-arquitetos/#commentsWed, 11 May 2016 14:44:36 +0000http://www10.aeccafe.com/blogs/arch-showcase/?p=339048Article source: Rede Arquitetos

The administrative building of the Federal University of Ceará´s campus in Crateús municipality is the first of its set of blocks provided by the master plan of this academic unit. The building has a dual function: to host the administrative part of the set and to serve as a gateway to the campus, thus determining the shape of the building, which is split by a shift in its floorplan that separates a stretch and closed part from the other, open and fluid.

The access through the open stretch, more than just a building, it is a great shade of double height, which creates an area for meeting and socializing. This space intentionally without defined use, changes throughout the day, both through a garden that receives light designed by a group of pergolas, and also because of the landscape and sunset reflected in the glass facade which gives access to more closed part of the building.

The part that houses the administration is an airtight volume where is almost impossible to see what happens inside, both because of the mirrored facade of the entrance, because of the rear perforated wall (north) that protects from direct sunlight, and also because of the front facade (south), opaque and with zenith lighting. These devices contribute both to greater isolation of its interior and for the possibility to receive future changes keeping the external character of the building. Internally a double height reception distributes the flows in the two floors. On the ground floor are the boardrooms, office, service areas and a set of toilets and changing rooms. Upstairs are the coordinations, a battery of toilets and pantry. These environments are connected by a corridor, which functions as a space for circulation as well as meeting space.

The austerity of double height is mitigated by the building materials. More than different materials, we work with possibilities of different lights and shadows, taking advantage of the strong insolation Crateús, emphasized by the contrast of white and dark materials.

The Titus brothers reached out to MH Architects to explore the concept of a new winery facility located in Napa Valley in 2012. The client’s stated goal was to express the spirit of Titus Vineyards wine through the architectural components of the winery design. MH Architects responded with a series of design iterations before narrowing the focus toward a design that best matched the client’s needs. During the process, architect and client reviewed the basics of production flow, matched hospitality requirements with current trends in the wine tourism industry, and created a building aesthetic which captured brand identity. The design team worked closely to accommodate the complex layout of shiny fermentation tanks which catalyze anaerobic reactions under the same roof which hosts aesthetically-conscious guests with discerning palates.

Bordered by Silverado Trail to the east and the Napa River to the west, the 54-acre project site is located just north of St. Helena with views overlooking estate vineyards. Previously, an existing farm house accommodated occasional informal tastings on a picnic bench and wine was produced at a rented custom crush facility. The client wanted take advantage of the picturesque setting and integrate a tasting experience for an ever-growing clientele with a state-of-the-art production facility. The new building would enable Titus Vineyards to sell wine directly to their customers and engage those customers with the land where the grapes were originally grown and the process of the wine being made.

MH Architects discussed the winemaking process at length with winery staff in order to map out crucial adjacencies for production flow. Staff was forthcoming with technical requirements for all equipment. Necessary clearances were observed and efficient routing for all plumbing and electrical components were optimized. As the equipment was integrated into the floorplan, the building itself became a wine-making machine.

As a 20,000 case production facility, Titus is generally considered a “boutique” winery where crafted production is emphasized over the volume of wine that is produced. Fruit is delivered directly to the Covered Crush area from flatbed trucks and dumped onto horizontal conveyances for cellar staff to remove any substandard grape clusters. After being processed by the destemmer, the grape “must” is pumped to 6000-gallon fermentation tanks in the adjacent Fermentation Room. During the next six weeks, glucose is converted to carbon dioxide, heat, and ethyl alcohol while the age-old process of fermentation is administered through a tightly-controlled process. Following crush and fermentation, the wine is then pumped into 60-gallon wood barrels stacked five racks tall where it will age for two years in the Barrel Storage Room.

Siting the building was complicated due to proximity to the Napa River. To mitigate flood risk, the winery was raised to sit atop on a 5- to 8-foot-tall earthen berm. In addition to avoiding high water, the elevated building pad afforded the new Tasting Room uninterrupted views over the surrounding vineyards to the Napa River and the wooded Mayacama Range beyond.

Because of the raised berm, every effort was made to reduce the vertical height of the structure and the profile of the building in general. The large roof spans at the Fermentation and Barrel Storage Rooms were achieved with flat metal trusses as opposed to sloped gables. Most of the perimeter walls of the building were constructed with tilt-up board-formed concrete. The formwork and rebar for the walls were laid out on 6-inch-wide boards to create a rich, striated texture. After curing, each of the concrete walls was “tilted up” 22-feet high and into place by crane. Because the walls were precast, special care was taken to coordinate imbedded metal anchors to receive the ends of the metal trusses in order to structurally interlock the roof and walls together.

The horizontal lines that define the board-formed concrete walls repeat in the Hospitality Room suspended ceiling, comprised of varied width and depth wooden slats. Glass blade LED light fixtures set between the slats maintain the linear theme. Offsetting the hard concrete floors and walls, the slatted ceiling baffles sound gently and mitigates acoustical resonance allowing intelligible conversation when multiple groups of guests are present. MH Architects also designed linear pendant fixtures over the Tasting Counter and in the individual Tasting Rooms. Suspended by pairs of minimal aircraft cables, the fixtures are comprised of rectilinear wooden blocks of alder to match the ceiling with an LED light slot on the bottom.

The distinction between the winery interior and the natural setting was intentionally blurred. Sliding glass Nana bi-fold doors span a 24-foot-wide opening between the Tasting Room and the exterior covered porch overlooking the vineyards to the west. The concrete floor and wood slat ceiling finishes continue uninterrupted between the interior and exterior. The Tasting Room space expands toward the covered porch and the crisp lines in the ceiling mirror the cultivated vineyard rows beyond.

During a tasting, guests may admire the view of the estate vineyards to the west or alternately observe the cellar staff hard at work in the Crush and Fermentation Rooms through a glass wall to the east. Flanked by grapevines and fermentation tanks, the winemaking process is integral to the guest experience. As wine production weaves with wine hospitality, the philosophy of the Titus Vineyards brand translates into built form.

The project involves the reuse of the ticket office of the adjacent multisport facility, abandoned since years and its reconversion into a coffee-bistro.

The property, owned by the municipality, has been the subject of a call for tenders for the award to private investors, with the aim not only of renovating a run-down but mainly to combine the private’s wishes and aspirations with the public needs by means of a quality planning.

The formula chosen by the local administration was one of collaboration to provide for the lack of resources. The main goal is to recover the building and simultaneously to improve the quality of the surrounding built-up area in a highly critical neighbourhood.

An urban gap between the outskirts of Ragusa and the new expansion areas that are springing up around the city without logic; A very low building density area as a leftover of a residential expansion plan not linked to the pre-existing urban setting.

It is a quick transit area where some services for the community persist like the sports facilities (the sports arena, the football stadium, the public swimming-pool and the riding-school), the street market, the schools, the business centre and all their respective huge parking.

The wide empty spaces, the low building density and the rare public use (mainly due to occasional events), give to this area the typical features of an urban “non-place”.

The only distinctive point of reference is the tower of the municipal water tank that overlooks the building subjected to the action and with its about 30 meters’ height becomes the “flagship” of the area.

The public-private strategy is to start a commercial activity to serve all the sports facilities and at the same time accessible to all the new families living in the area; but the true challenge is to create a meeting point for the whole community and to trigger a process of urban regeneration.

A survey showed that the building, erected in the late 80’s, has a square plan, a reinforced concrete structure, a flat roof made of brick and concrete, hollow brick infill walls and has openings on all the façades.

The project, in compliance with the current regulations and in respect of the budget, involves the realization of an outer skin made of low-cost and reused materials (Aquapanel® panels and carpentry wooden slats) that reshapes the building. The openings on the side façades (that look south on to the sports arena and north on to the under-construction building cooperatives) are shielded by the new filter; two large windows, the one on the entrance and the other one aligned on the opposite face, open up a view on the urban landscape.

The casing not only shields the technical systems (boiler, air conditioner outdoor unit, water pump, alarm system) but also creates a perimeter cavity that works as a storage.

Inside, a wall enamelled with a green polyurethane resin separates the work area from the customers’ area. Beams and pillars are left in fair-faced concrete and the floor is made of industrial concrete screed smoothened and treated with a transparent resin. The bar counter, as a full block, is made of iron sheets and the furniture recall vintage retro styles.

Born in Ragusa in 1977, Giuseppe Gurrieri, after his architecture graduation at the Politecnico di Milano, worked for some years at Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo’s studio. In 2008 he opened his own studio in Ragusa. Giuseppe focuses on private residential projects, including new buildings, restorations, landscaping, and interior design. He works on projects in Sicily and Puglia, and also conducts research and teaches at the Faculty of Architecture of KTH University in Stockholm.

The Indian Oil campus in Panipat is significant in having achieved a LEED Gold certification. This building is one of its kinds with its vision on the concept of sustainability. The essential outcomes include site sustainability, indoor environment quality, effective waste management, energy and water efficiency and regional priority besides the innovative design approach with green power generation.

Some of the salient features are lighting optimization to minimize the internal lighting load, improved thermal properties of glass, 100% green power purchase, use of three waste bin system, use of 25% local manufactured and extracted materials, water conservation fixtures, usage of waste low pressure exhaust steam from IOCL Power Plant to operate VAM chillers amongst others. The buildings are planned around courtyards in response to the climate conditions and as interesting interactive spaces. Sustainability along with aesthetics and functionality form the core values of design derivation.

On the west coast of Middle Africa, Senegal is by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Senegal River borders the country to the east and north. The capital city of Senegal, Dakar is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. The congress center first opened on November 2014, for the 15th Francophone Assembly where 75 world presidents met. Typical geography and the natural values has been the inspiration for the project. Extraordinary, characteristic Baobab trees of Senegal are distinctive with their enormous girth. Their massive trunks can grow to circumferences of 25 meters or more. Their second distinctive feature is great longevity. Baobabs live well over a thousand years, so that they have been important landmarks in Senegal’s dry savanna plain; in oral histories baobabs are cited as loci of battles, or as marking borders between states. Many of these historic trees have been classified as historic monuments by the Ministry of Culture.

Surrounding water element and the girth of the masses of the project refer to the resource values. Longevity is the aim, both for the physical existence of the building and the power of the country, as well as being a source of pride for Africa. In history, kings were crowned beneath a tree, parley with envoys beneath the shadowy leaves and branches and trees mark the central public squares of polities; like being sheltered by an ancient monumental tree, the one-piece roof of the project encases the building stacks, and guards each construction dedicated to a special function against weather conditions like direct sunbeams and wind.

The building complex becomes a natural harbor for the presidential meetings providing a serene and secure atmosphere. The construction joins separate units like gathering strong collective identities of divers nations, solving the needs of statesmen’s assemblies and associated events. The units of the complex connected via water and bridges linking the separate blocks accentuate notions of the community’s foundation-creation, duration-continuity and harmony-order, in both social and environmental realms.

The rectangular blocks are nested in a semi-transparent metal envelops as a shield protecting from strong lights and create an implication of security, protecting the interiors from sharp sun beams yet benefiting the daylight at optimum. Mesh application flows around the building, protects the inner glass walls to reduce the heat in order to improve building’s energy efficiency. The twisted blades forming the texture of the mesh screen behaves like sun-break and grants a shady interior without hindering the accent of transparency. The building with its elegant veil visually merges to the surrounding water and creates eternal reflections over the water.Through the placement of panels in variations at different levels and angles, the façade is perceived as an assortment of playful geometries glittering with day light, echoing the colors and tones of the sky.

The three-dimensional effect of the mesh curtain grants the building a feeling of floating expression over the surrounding reflection pool which becomes a dramatic illustration with the sea breeze gliding through the facades. At night, when interiors are illuminated, the oozing beams through incise patterns become even more playful on the water.

Entering the complex is made possible at all sides, one being the service entrance on the north. Presidential entrance directs to the main conference hall, a rectangular space at the first floor. The auditorium where 1500 delegates can gather, presidents’ seats face the audience as a long head table. The hall is situated amid the structure and accessed through the main lobby. The public entrances are given through the public restaurant and before the open-air fair zone, adjacent to the press & administration building, both units on the west-side of the complex.

The VIP entrance is from the east end of the complex, between the museum unit and the VIP unit, which is a separate block linked to the main hall via transparent connection bridge; the upper level is reserved only for the President of Senegal, from that level the VIP unit directly connects to the VIP restaurant situated above the museum, on the second floor. On both sides of the conference hall backstage, there are Experts’ hall and VIP rooms. All interiors grant a feeling of spaciousness, and create a wide circulation zone.

The balance of light and shadow, transparency of a communal space and confidentiality of affairs of state is carefully practiced in the physical existence of the project. An understanding of contemporary architecture is proposed for the building which is supported by all means of technological infrastructure, the acoustic concerns are supported by architecture, as well as the quality of technical equipment. High technology and high security systems will be applied in the building.

Align with its function as a meeting place for the presidents, the building is strong and symbolizes to be modern; it is simple but functional and finds its expression in elegance. The genuine construction gains gestures of its own and uses the language of contemporary architecture. Open to negotiations where leaders shall meet up under one roof, Dakar International Conference Center will be a strong element of high representation. Like the powerful ancient baobab tree –the center will welcome the delegates of nations under its roof for peace, as a step forward for an African union, like the motto of Senegal “One People, One Goal, One Faith”.

Vigliecca & Associados developed a project that unites in a single building the complexity of eight high-end materials and clean fuel research laboratories located at São Carlos Federal University, one of the main universities in Brazil, creating a naturally fresh and bright environment in the midst of São Paulo state’s torrid countryside.

A single building was designed to fulfill the needs of eight very important laboratories that function independently but, at the same time, all focus on frontline knowledge research in one of Brazil’s main universities. Inaugurated recently, the São Carlos Federal University (UFSCar) Advanced Materials and Energy Research Center in the city of São Carlos, state of São Paulo, is the first building of its type, within the University, and one of the first ones in the country, to offer specific installations and an adequate structure for advanced research. In addition, it presents sustainable features that focus on a healthy and sustainable environment. “We were able to balance functionality and environmental quality,” affirms the architect Héctor Vigliecca, author of the project and co-founder of the architecture office Vigliecca & Associados.

The 3600 m² building was designed to house the main ground floor programs using a modular pattern of built elements. A central axis threads together eight pavilions that have semi-open patios in between each pavilion in order to offer natural sunlight and ventilation to each lab. “The interior of the building is filled with natural light but is well ventilated at the same time. We developed a way of shading the façade so that it would be possible to be in visual contact with the outside while naturally controlling interior temperatures, dismissing the need for air-conditioning”, architect Luciene Quel says, author of the project and co-founder of the Vigliecca & Associados.

Air enters through the patio windows and exits through air exhausts installed on the roof of the laboratory’s main hall. Accurately inclined shading devices on the roof of the patios prevent overheating and excessive direct light. By carefully choosing interior materials and colors, it was possible to maximize natural lighting inside of the laboratories and providing a well-balanced environment.

The building’s central axis has two functions: it connects each laboratory and adjacent ground floor areas (circulation hall) to the roof level (also called “services street”) where all technical equipment (electricity, hydraulics, logics, gases etc.) and special installations adjacent to each laboratory are located, maintaining total independence between them. This axis also connects the labs to the service vehicle area through a ramp, allowing allows gas cylinders to be directly and individually delivered to each lab.

Technical areas as well as storage areas are sized to accommodate future needs. The block adjacent to the eight laboratories gathers all of the common areas such as the reception hall, exhibit spaces, auditorium for 130 people and the administrative area. This area can also host events since it has all of the necessary infrastructure.

In order to keep up with constant changes so common in the research realm and avoid the need for disorderly annexes, the project counts with modular interior spaces designed with modular partitions that allow for constant re-sizing and new layouts. This way, it is possible to maximize the expansion area of each lab along with the main building but also reserve an area for other four modules of independent research, taking full advantage of the available area as well as establishing guidelines and limits for new construction.

Each laboratory has specific features. For an example: in order to study nanoparticles, it was necessary to make completely independent foundation footings for each microscope base in order to avoid any external vibration interference. For the metals lab, it was necessary to acoustically isolate the room containing the metal grinders. The refractory materials lab has a reactor, so for safety issues, an independent external room was designed. This room is monitored from the main building though a control booth.

A reflecting pool in the main entry hall embellishes the area but also has sustainable features, serving as a re-use water reservoir. “The building was designed to be fully sustainable. We estimate that in a year all activities will be completely sustainable”, says Professor Ernesto Antonio Urquieta-González, Chemical Engineering Department professor, idealizer and coordinator of the project. “All people walking into the building, whether they are local or international researchers or even the general public, are always impressed by the structure and beauty of the building,” he adds. “It is the first great investment done by the university that offers all of the necessary structure and equipment from the very beginning, immediately making high end research possible”.

All eight labs count with adsorption laboratories and applied catalysis areas; nanostructures materials: amorphous, metastable and nanostructured metals; microwave materials processing; polymers; special ceramics and refractory containers; instrumentation and analysis; biofuels and clean fuel. The facility will house research from several departments of the Exact Science and Technology Center (CCET/UFSCar) that focus on nanotechnology development, advanced materials as well as energy production and storage.